IGCC can efficiently generate power by combining a steam turbine and a gas turbine, by gasifying solid coal in a gasification furnace.
Furthermore, whereas conventional coal-fired plants produce a large amount of coal ash, IGCC discharges glass-like slag (ash) after gasifying coal in the gasification furnace. The volume of the slag discharged from the gasification furnace is substantially half that of the coal ash discharged from conventional coal-fired boilers.
A gasification furnace includes a combustor that combusts fuel to produce high-temperature gas, and a reductor that is located above the combustor and communicates with the combustor. In the reductor, fuel is brought into contact with the high-temperature gas to cause gasification reaction and is gasified.
PTL 1 discloses a configuration of such a gasification furnace, in which a panel-type water wall (hereinbelow, also referred to as a “heat exchanger”), serving as a cooling means, is provided above the reductor in order to cool the high temperature gas that has passed through the gasification reaction in the reductor.